San Diego's first green bridal show set to begin

The Wedding Party Bridal Show, a wedding exhibition production company, will present San Diego's first full-scale environmentally conscious bridal expo from noon to 5 p.m. March 8 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel.

Pamela Ann Noxon, owner of The Wedding Party Bridal Show and SanDiegoWedding.com, said she began developing the concept about a year ago and is thrilled that her company's 18th show is going green.

"It's the way of life that we all need to move into, and I realized the event industry needed to be inspired," Noxon said.

Every element of the expo from the front of the house to behind the scenes incorporates Earth-friendly practices. Rather than handing out plastic bags, Noxon is offering a "Go Green, Save Green" promotion: Participants are admitted for free - a $20 savings - when they preregister at

The program has been printed on 100 percent recycled paper with soy ink, and the linens for display tables undergo a "green" cleaning process, enabling them to be reused more than 2,000 times.

Known for the high-quality, established companies her shows feature, Noxon said this production is no different except that many of her longtime exhibitors have started to go green and this is a chance for those professionals to offer that option to brides and grooms.

"This is a very new issue in the wedding and events industry," Noxon said. "It's not a small thing to go green with a business, and it happens in stages."

In addition to displays from caterers, decor companies, fashion designers, wedding and event planners, disc jockeys, musicians, jewelers, wineries, specialty rental companies, travel agencies, florists, photographers and videographers, the expo will mark the debut of The Green Room, an interactive learning environment where visitors can meet with experts and listen in on mini-seminars. Two fashion shows featuring couture gowns and designer tuxedos by La Jolla's M Bride and A Better Deal Designer Tuxedos and Suits will run at 2 and 3:30 p.m.

One lucky winner will receive an exciting honeymoon package from Fiji Vacations at the eco-friendly Koro Sun Resort and Rainforest Spa. Merlyn Young, whose family owns the exotic getaway, said couples can create a bridal registry at their site where friends and family can offset the carbon footprint of their honeymoon trip or donate to local green efforts such as environmental education or rain forest restoration.

The goal of eco-tourism is to preserve these experiences for future generations, Young said, adding, "The overarching idea is that we're trying to mitigate our impact while enjoying these pristine destinations and interacting with local villagers."

Those same efforts are taking place closer to home with companies such as TK&A Custom Catering and Green Field Paper Co.

"We've gotten a lot of requests from couples who do not want to leave their footprint on Earth on their special day," said Mark Vogel of TK&A.

The catering company offers varying degrees of green, ranging from using local produced organic foods to recycling cooking oils.

"As a company, we're going green every day, and we're getting more and more requests," said Vogel, adding that he sees this as a definite trend in the event industry. "It's on the rise. I can see probably in another five or 10 years it's going to be big to go green."

For more information or to register for The Wedding Party Bridal show, visit